On the EDge: Not surprised by Hatch’s medical cannabis bill

September 18, 2017 Utah Channel 3

OPINION — I’ve known Orrin Hatch, Utah’s most-senior senator, for about 20 years now.

I have interviewed him countless times, sat in editorial board policy meetings with him and debated issues, visited with him in strictly personal, off-the-record meetings.

That’s why I was not surprised last week when he introduced a bipartisan bill that, in essence, supports the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes and calls for more research into its efficacy.

The senator and I have divergent political ideologies, to be sure.

But, what I have learned about him is that behind the political facade he exhibits as the good and loyal Republican, there is also a certain sensibility and compassion that lurks beneath the political bravado.

He may not be a Republican by today’s Alt-Right or Tea Party standards, but he is most definitely an old-school Republican reminiscent, at least to me, of the statesman-like Barry Goldwater and Bob Dole who preached a hardline Republican game, but when it came time to make a major decision put it all aside and explored what could be done for the good of the country.

And, make no mistake about it, Hatch’s current leanings on the issue of medicinal cannabis is a major decision that must be made for the good of the country.

“In our zeal to enforce the law, we too often blind ourselves to the medicinal benefits of natural substances like cannabis,” Hatch said when introducing his bill on the Senate floor. “While I certainly do not support the use of marijuana for recreational purposes, the evidence shows that cannabis possesses medicinal properties that can truly change people’s lives for the better.”

Hatch went on to say that cannabis “has the potential to help millions of Americans,” and that it “can truly change people’s lives for the better.”

Look, during the early days of legalization for medicinal purposes, I, too, thought it was all just a simple nudge and a wink thing, that a bunch of old stoners had found a way to beat the suits at their own game to have legal access to marijuana.

And, as a child of the ‘60s, I gave them props.

My generation was the original testbed for pot. It was a generational thing, to be sure, but it seriously cut across the vast demographics of ‘60s culture. It wasn’t only the hippies who smoked joints at rock concerts, there were plenty of conservatives, too, who found comfort in Mother Nature. Every president since Jimmy Carter has some familiarity with the plant, some supporting decriminalization efforts, others admitting to partaking in its use.

I would pretty much guarantee that Orrin Hatch has never fired up a big fat one. There’s just too much religious and cultural DNA in his genes to allow such behavior.

But, like all of us, I am sure he has seen plenty of examples of how debilitating opioid treatments can be for those suffering from disease or chronic pain. I’m sure he is familiar with the startling numbers associated with opioid addiction and overdose. And, I am sure he is familiar with research that has found cannabis as a safe and effective alternative for many uses.

Don’t discount that part.

Ask your pharmacist how many drugs have off-label applications.

Baby aspirin is used not only to alleviate pain or fever, but to prevent heart attacks or strokes.

Old-school antidepressants are used now to treat neuropathy.

And, we all know about a medication called sildenafil that was developed to control pulmonary arterial hypertension but was found to also help relieve erectile dysfunction. It has since been rebranded, of course, as Viagra.

So, it is not out of the ordinary for cannabis to be found effective for a number of medical conditions. That’s why we see people touting it for ailments from wasting from cancer treatments to auto-immune diseases that cause severe inflammation problems to menstrual cramps.

I recall sitting across the table from the senator and listening as he passionately defended stem cell research, urging the need to consider “the science behind it,” as he said.

I recall sitting across the table from the senator when he was talking about encouraging research into new drug therapies based on an individual’s DNA, which would create a unique medication for each patient that would be most effective in treatment to fight our most deleterious diseases and to examine “the science behind it.”

And, on another level, I recall how he was the impetus behind the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act of 1990, which has so far paid out more than $2 billion to victims of fallout from the horrific nuclear detonations at the Nevada Test Site during the Cold War. The bill had kicked around the Senate since the 1970s with some strong Democratic backing, including a draft sponsored by the late Sen. Ted Kennedy in 1979. Hatch doggedly pursued the legislation until it was enacted in 1990.

So, despite our political differences, I can see humanity within the man.

There are 29 states, plus the District of Columbia, with laws on the books that have legalized the medicinal use of cannabis.

The Utah Legislature has caved to church and political pressures and given lip service to proposed legalization. As a result, a group in Utah, called the Utah Patients Coalition, is pushing for voter approval of medicinal cannabis next year. It claims its polls show that 64 percent of Republican voters and 63 percent of active voters who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints support legalizing medicinal cannabis. It also claims its polls show that older voters in Utah support medical cannabis legalization at an even higher rate, that 75 percent of voters 50 and older are in favor of medical use. When chronic pain is brought into the equation, 72 percent of all respondents said they felt cannabis should be available for treatment.

I understand that legalizing medicinal cannabis does not ensure that there won’t be people taking advantage of the law, that there won’t be those who fake their way into a prescription.

But, given the fact that throughout recorded history there has not been one incident of a cannabis overdose, that there are no physically addictive properties attached to cannabis and that it is an affordable, efficient way for those suffering to find relief, it is time to reconsider the sham that has been prohibition.

It’s not only the compassionate thing to do, but the right thing to do.

No bad days!

Ed Kociela is an opinion columnist for St. George News. The opinions stated in this article are his own and may not be representative of St. George News.

Email: edkociela.mx@gmail.com

Twitter: @STGnews, @EdKociela